Go west young man

I visited a couple of customers today who live in a remote part of Western Colorado. Although their homes were less than 20 miles away from Grand Junction, they had no option for high speed Internet other than satellite. Unlike the Eastern United States, broadband Internet is slow to roll out in smaller communities out West.   Satellite Internet is an OK option for some people who can’t get DSL, cable or...

10 Things you can do with Broadband Internet

Thanks to lower prices and increased availability, broadband (high speed) Internet is starting to over take dial-up services in the United States. Dial-up Internet served us well for the first 10 years of the Internet, but to really take advantage of the Internet today, a broadband connection is a must. Here are 10 things that you can do with a high speed connection today that you can’t do (as easily) with a dial-up...

Red X’s in Email Messages

I’m resetting this tip from two or so years ago because we have had so many phone calls and email messages about this topic.  Have you ever received an email with "red x’s" in a box or just an empty box in the middle of the email? There are three possible explanations for this phenomenon; either you are reading the message offline, your email program is blocking images from appearing in your email,...

Things aren’t always the same

A client of mine made a great observation today about computers. She put into words something that I have tried to articulate for years. I’m paraphrasing, but it went something like this: "The trouble I have with computers is that they don’t always react the same way twice." "Wow", I thought….great statement. Unlike cars or toasters, computers have many more complex instructions...

Windows Installer Problems

Mike called us with problems in his security software. Here are the links to possible solutions: http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;295823  He was using a security a package from his Internet provider, it might be better to uninstall their package and use the security software we recommend on our site.

Typical Day Kickoff!!

Today was one of the best examples ever of a typical day. In fact, today was so typical that it was atypically typical. I began my day by giving the office manager at a local doctor’s office a lesson in Microsoft PowerPoint. Immediately after that I headed to Sam’s Club to purchase a video card for my next client. I barely had enough time to buy the card before I had to be at their house to install it. I have had...

Remember to Logout from Financial Sites

Millions of computer users now bank and trade online. The convenience of online banking and trading is not disputed, but some still wonder about safety. All large banking institutions take the time and effort to shore up security from their end to protect you and your transactions. They also know that if they don’t provide the best in security that they won’t be in business very long.  However, no matter how...

Unblocking Attachments in Outlook Express

Many computer users over the past few months lost the ability to receive attachments normally in Outlook Express for seemingly no reason. As with all problems, there is a cause. In this case, the loss of attachments starts after a Windows Update session or an upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer/Outlook Express. Microsoft decided that since attachments can bring along a virus, by default they would prevent...

One Additional Defense Against Email Viruses

This simple tip should not be a substitute for anti-virus programs and keeping them updated, but can be an affective adjunct to anti-virus programs. As always, remember that viruses can come from friends and family. Although not on purpose, if a friend or family email buddy received a virus unknowingly, they will propagate the virus unknowingly as well. Because we have a tendency to look at email attachments, institute this...

Cookies…are they dangerous, harmless or do t...

Cookies are small (very small…hundreds of cookies will take up less than a tenth of a megabyte on your hard drive) text files that are deposited on our computer systems by some web sites. For example, the polling service I use for our listener poll will deposit a cookie on your hard drive to prevent more than one vote per question, but that is all it does. In the majority of cases, cookies pose no threat to you, your...

Stop the Windows password screen

Follow either of these techniques to get rid of the Windows logon password (it doesn’t provide any type of security any way). I’m going to give a couple of ways to go about it, because it can be quirky and not work the same way on every machine (imagine that). Technique 1: 1. Click on Start–>Settings –> Control Panel 2. Double-click on the Passwords icon. 3. Click the Change Passwords tab and...

Remove Password at Startup

Are you annoyed by a ‘password’ screen that starts up every time you start your computer? Did you know that this password affords you NO extra security what-so-ever? Well, if you are itching to get rid of it, here’s how: 1. Click on Start –> Find –> Files or Folders 2. Type: *.pwl in the named box 3. Click in the Look In box and choose My Computer 4. Make sure the Include...

Beware of Fraudulent Email

This week I had the unfortunate job of helping a client of mine change email addresses and passwords. Not that the change itself was unfortunate, it was the reason for the change. Earlier in the week, she fell prey to an Internet scam known as ‘phishing’. Phishing starts in our email box. The email looks and almost sounds completely official and usually claims to represent a large company like AOL, Earthlink,...

Update your virus protection

One of the best ways to protect your system and keep it running smoothly is to update your virus protection program regularly. My current favorite anti-virus program is the free addition of AVG (see our link for it on the home page). I like not only its thoroughness, but the update utility is extremely easy (in fact automatic if you spend at least an hour a day online). After all, an anti-virus program can only help if it is...

Changing Shortcut Icons – Video Tip

Lately many of our tips have focused on Internet and computer safety and security. As important as these topics are, computers still do have a fun side. In fact, Adam and I often refer to computers as the ‘hot rod’ of the new millennium…you can customize it to your own liking. In today’s tip, you will learn how to customize boring old shortcuts on your desktop. Since Windows 95, Microsoft gave users...